Rangers in Division Three: Fall-out for Hibs worries fans’ chief

COLLEEN STRACHAN

HIBS fans’ chief Steven Brockie believes SFL clubs were correct to make Rangers start again in Division Three – but admits he is worried what the future will hold for the clubs who are left in the top flight.

The newco will play in the bottom tier this season after 25 of the 30 SFL outfits voted against parachuting the Ibrox club into the First Division.

The remaining SPL clubs expect financial hardship as a result of Rangers being absent from the top flight for three years – at the very least – but Brockie insists there was no other choice for the clubs at yesterday’s vote.

Brockie, chairman of the Calton Hibs Supporters branch, said: “In terms of fairness, I think the decision to send them straight into the Third Division was spot-on.

“It had to happen. There was no way that they could have done anything else, because it would have been seen as favouritism. In terms of sporting integrity, as Rod Petrie has said himself, it was probably the only thing that could have happened and, no matter how big they are, they deserve to be down there.

“However, on the financial side of things it is obviously very worrying for everyone and you just have to hope that this actually works in Hibs’ favour.

“I am sure that the TV deal can be renegotiated and you would think that if games go back to being a three o’clock kick-off on a Saturday afternoon that your crowd numbers would increase.

“I would hope now that there would be an upturn in season ticket sales as well because teams who have never had a chance of second place or a Champions League qualifier will now have exactly that.

“People traditionally don’t take their kids to these games because of the vitriol that

you get anyway, so if you’ve now got a game against

Dundee or Dunfermline in their place, maybe people will be happier to bring

along their families.”

Brockie was among supporters who gathered at Easter Road at the beginning of this week for the latest fans’ forum ‘Let’s Work Together’ and he conceded that some of the projected figures for a future without the Ibrox side were concerning.

He continued: “I was at the ‘Let’s Work Together’ forum on Tuesday night and there were different discussions regarding all of the different scenarios that the game could be facing. If you had asked me my feelings before that meeting, I would have had no hesitation in saying that Rangers should be treated the same as any other club.

“But some of the figures that we were shown could be financially disastrous for some clubs.

“There was some talk of the game losing £13 million but you hope that it turns out to be a lot of scaremongering because, while I want

Rangers to be punished, I don’t want Hibs to lose out and be punished too.”